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San Francisco Giants' Mixed-Use Waterfront Development Gets Green Light

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- After a decade of planning and proposals, the San Francisco Giants' massive new waterfront development near AT&T Park got the go-ahead from City Hall.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Mission Rock development plan Tuesday evening.

The project is expected to add a lot of housing. At a time when the city desperately needs it.

The Board of Supervisors has decided to transform a 28-acre parking lot into a space that will be filled with apartments, offices, and retail shops.

A major selling point was the more than 1,300 housing units promised for middle-income families, 40 percent of which will be below market-rate.

District 6 Supervisor and mayoral candidate Jane Kim said, "We're targeting units for families that make $80-$150,000 a year, because we know that so much of our middle class who earn good wages in San Francisco are struggling to live in San Francisco, too."

Kim says she's thrilled this project is proposed to happen in her district and commends the San Francisco Giants for being a huge community advocate.

"They're not just a developer, but they're a team that's really rooting for San Franciscans," Kim said. "And I think that this is going to be a model project not just for our city but for the country, in terms of how we build mixed-income projects."

Before the vote, District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer wavered on her support for the Mission Rock project.

"I don't know how I'll vote probably until I get in there," said Fewer beforehand.

Her main concern: a lack of a public schools in an area where the city is trying to attract families to live.

Fewer said, "And at Mission Rock, it's 40 percent below market rate, which is fabulous. But then those families will need a school to send their children to, and we already have an existing population at Mission Bay and there's no school for them there."

Fewer ultimately voted in favor of it.

Thanks to Proposition D, which voters approved back in 2015, buildings at Mission Rock will range from 90 to 240 feet.

This is a $1 billion project that will be financed by the developer, bonds, and taxes.

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